


Royal chance

by Miizurichan



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Confessions, Drama, M/M, Pre-Relationship, baths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 20:19:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6872008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miizurichan/pseuds/Miizurichan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What do you do when you've figured out you're in love with someone you shouldn't be in love with? For Laslow, the answer would be getting into a bath with them and confessing. However, it's not without a few bumps in the road.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Royal chance

**Author's Note:**

> I can't promise this is consistent, but I love xanlas so eh it'll make do.  
> Major thanks to Grey on twitter for even getting me into this ship!  
> Enjoy!

He had always been careful, analysing, before doing anything. He followed orders, trained well, felt proud of himself. Xander took pride in those things, took pride in being good name and face for his family. 

Yet, when the order to take in a retainer called Laslow came, he hesitated. Barely, but still, he hesitated. It was out of his comfort zone, way out, but he couldn’t disobey an order. However, he would still be careful. He would test this new retainer, to see if there truly was something to him. 

That was now a few months ago and Xander was in a pinch again. His new retainer – Laslow – was everywhere. He was everywhere with that bright, outgoing and flirty personality that made Xander feel weird. Too weird. 

It came to no surprise to himself that he could also fall for men, but he had a son, and a family to keep happy. Falling for his retainer, a young, presumably heterosexual, male retainer, was not good. Yet, that was the feeling he had. Every time Laslow as much as smiled in his direction, he could feel a flush creep up his chest, but he always managed to keep it away from his face. 

Xander had kept it a perfect secret, but as fate would have it, he felt himself slowly starting to properly trust Laslow as a true retainer, and not just an order he had to follow. 

That was dangerous, he was fully aware of that, but after a particularly hard day, Xander found himself wanting nothing but the relaxing company Laslow provided him with. In an attempt to negotiate with the Hoshido family, Xander, along with his sister Camilla, had been presented with their kidnapped sister, Azura. 

While Xander had maintained as calm as he could, Camilla had hit a cup off the table with the back of her hand in pure rage. Although she could lose her cool and could be twisted, Xander couldn’t think of a single time he had seen her that enraged. 

In the end, nothing had come out of the negotiation, nothing but more pain and more anger. Camilla had barely shown herself after they got home, then again, neither had Xander. Although seeing their sister alive after all those years made them happy, they were both enraged by the Hoshido’s use of her as an object of negotiation. 

He knew the family had their reasons, but for the siblings of the Nohr royal family, it was a low blow. For Xander it was especially painful to see Ryoma do nothing, as they were quite close despite their families’ disagreements. 

Thinking back to those events made Xander’s stomach churn painfully, or maybe it was just his hunger catching up to him, he wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to dwell on it. Instead, he took his stomach up on its noisy complain and exited his room with his destination being the dining room.

As if on cue, Laslow came into the hall leading to the dining room just as Xander came there. “Ah, Xander? You going for dinner too?” Laslow’s smile was as dazzling as it ever was, but what made Xander feel less tense was the fact that Laslow didn’t comment on his social absence and how he was ‘finally’ out of his room. 

“Yes, I was hungry, so it seemed like a good time.” Giving Laslow a small smile, Xander moved to hold the door open for him as they both entered the dining room. A chuckle left Laslow’s mouth as they walked toward the table that was usually always set. “Then we thought the same, my prince.” 

Without thinking about it, Xander let out a low laugh at the lavish and teasing tone of Laslow’s voice. “Quite so, apparently.” He could already feel his spirits rising as they sat down on opposite sides of the table. Laslow was still smiling as he leaned his head on the back of his hands after folding them. “Say, are you busy this evening, Xander?” 

The question took Xander off guard, but he answered honestly. He had absolutely no plans to do anything. Then, Xander remembered something. “I did plan to have a bath, but other than that, it should be no problem to give you my full attention.” 

Laslow couldn’t help but laugh heartily by Xander’s honest way of speaking and equally honest confession. “Well, the baths around here are quite big, so why don’t I join you?” He could see his proposal made a flush creep up Xander’s neck, but the prince he so adored nodded yes to his proposal either way. 

Clapping his hands together, Laslow stood up and smiled widely at Xander. “With that a done deal, I’ll alert the kitchen maids we’re ready for dinner.” Without waiting for a reaction, Laslow all but skipped over to the door leading to the kitchen to call for one of the maids, or even one of the cooks, to make sure they wouldn’t be waiting for too long. 

Although he smiled and acted all confident in himself, most of it was an act. At least around the eldest Nohrian prince. The moment Laslow had gotten behind the door to the kitchen, he had to stop and draw his breath slightly. He was well aware of his feelings for Xander, but he never acted on them. At some point, he figured, Xander would find a woman, marry her and start a family. Despite not having much against harmless flirting with the married women that accepted it, he absolutely wouldn’t, couldn’t get involved with Xander as more than his retainer if Xander married. Despite all that again, Laslow wanted to be selfish and stop Xander from ever marrying, at least until laws changed. 

Shaking his head miserably at his own thoughts, Laslow walked the few steps into the actual kitchen and knocked his knuckles down on the counter two times to get the attention of the cook there. When she turned, she immediately lit up with a smile. “Laslow! What can I do for you today?” Her tone was light, happy and her smile bright. “I’d like some food, dinner if you’d be so sweet. Ah, for two. Prince Xander and I are eating right now.” As he spoke, Laslow kept a smile on his face and couldn’t help but chuckle at the cook’s surprised expression. 

There were many things she could have said, but instead of pointing anything out, she adjusted her apron and promised to make the best for both of them. After Laslow said his thanks and walked back to the door, he could hear the cook starting with her task at once, but before he could open the door, a call of his name made him turn back. “Would the prince and you want wine with the dinner?” 

Laslow supposed he should have opened the door and asked Xander before answering her, but he decided against it. Maybe wine was exactly what they both needed. Shrugging his shoulders lightly, Laslow smiled at the cook. “Well, why not, we’ll have some wine.” 

As Laslow walked toward the table, he noticed Xander was staring blankly ahead of himself with his hands folded under his chin. His expression was so serious and focused that Laslow couldn’t help himself as he tiptoed as quietly as he could over to where Xander sat. 

When he was close enough, he leaned in close to Xander’s ear and whispered “Boo”. Xander didn’t jump, but he was clearly startled as he turned his head to stare at Laslow with a perplexed expression. 

He looked so surprised yet confused that Xander couldn’t keep back the bursts of laughter that bubbled through his chest. Because of his almost painfully honest nature, Laslow had taken a huge liking both to surprising and embarrassing Xander. The more expressions Xander showed, the more Laslow could feel his heart ache and tug at his reasoning. 

After they had both gathered themselves again, and Laslow had found his seat again, it was time for dinner. Dinner and a mildly accusing look from Xander although he didn’t comment anything on it. Perhaps it was because the one who presented the wine looked so excited yet nervous to be that close to the eldest Nohr prince. 

Laslow watched in complete fascination as a flush rose to the cheeks of the young girl who poured wine for Xander. It fascinated him endlessly how fast people – including himself – could be charmed by the rare smiles Xander gave. 

The young girl hurried over to Laslow’s side of the table to fill his glass as well before putting the bottle down gently and darting out of the room as fast as she possibly could. In a brief moment, Laslow wondered if she was overwhelmed, but before he could think any further, Xander cleared his throat to get his attention. 

“What is the meaning of this?” The vague gesture toward the wine was but an added effect of the exasperated look Xander sent him. “What’s the meaning of what?” Deciding to feign ignorance, Laslow only smiled innocently as he started eating. 

“The wine, Laslow. Why?” He wasn’t angry, he rarely was, but Laslow could tell his cover was busted already. Even if he knew it would be pointless to try to dig his way out of it, he gave it a try. “Why? Just to give the food an extra lift. You don’t have to drink, Xander.” With a small shrug of his shoulders, Laslow looked up and met Xander’s gaze. 

Something about his expression seemed to trigger something in Xander, as let out a deep breath and had an almost painfully bashful look. “You’re worried.” 

Those words struck low for Laslow who slumped in his seat. “We’re all worried. Ever since you and Camilla came back you’ve been holed up in your room refusing to talk to anyone and I wanted to avoid bringing it up, I did. But, I’ve been… well tailing you, so I knew when you were going down to dinner today because it needs to stop. You can hole up all you wish, that doesn’t matter, but you can’t keep everything inside.” Laslow paused to dig his top teeth into his bottom lip before continuing. “Even for you, Xander, that’s too difficult. And yes, I did figure that getting chummy with you could get you to relax and feel better, and I thought the wine would help too, but I… I’m sorry if I stepped out of line.” 

At the last line, the brittle in Laslow’s voice was evident. Xander didn’t like burdening people, but watching Laslow, he found that he hated upsetting people even more. Then again, he did know that pretty much locking himself up and sitting with his thoughts was wrong, he knew that, but the reluctance to feel like he burdened someone had been stronger. 

“There is nothing to apologize for, Laslow.” Pausing lightly to reach forward to put his hand over Laslow’s hand, Xander waited until Laslow was looking at him. “Don’t be afraid to tell me things. I may be a prince, but even princes need some talking to.”

After the tension had settled, they sunk into a quiet but comfortable dinner. Sometimes they would talk, just to praise the food and the wine they had gotten, but otherwise they simply found each other’s company enjoyable. 

It was first when they were on their way the baths that Xander usually used that the conversation picked up again. However, more often than not, they found that just bumping into each other lightly as they walked was enough.

Perhaps they both realized it at that time, that being this close to each other did something to them, something they were pretty sure they could identify, but still didn’t tell each other. 

With their backs facing each other, they undressed and wrapped towels around their waists. In fact, they didn’t turn to face each other until they were safely in the warm water of the bath and their towels were safely on the edge. 

It was no surprise that Xander had a very firm build. Laslow had seen it before, even in baths, but being alone with him felt almost too intimate. Yet, he couldn’t help but sink back and relax as the warm water soothed every fibre in his body, and he was sure it did the same for Xander. Judging by the soft sigh that passed through his nose anyway. 

Although he felt fully relaxed and content in the warm water, a feeling of restlessness still swirled in Laslow’s chest. A look to his side where Xander was leaning relaxed against the edge of the bath proved the suspicion he had. He was already on borrowed time, he knew that. After all, that was why he had planned this. It was tearing too much on him to keep things a secret anymore. Though, he did suppose a bath wasn’t the post appropriate place to throw out a confession, he couldn’t bear to wait any longer. 

Clearing his throat slightly, Laslow inched toward Xander until their shoulders bumped lightly into each other. “Xander? You said, earlier, I shouldn’t hesitate to talk to you about things.” As he felt Xander’s gaze turn to him, he continued. “I have one more thing I need to talk to you about.” 

Xander could tell Laslow was nervous as he turned to sit on his knees in the bath and pushed his lightly damp hair back so their eyes could meet properly. Nodding slightly, Xander watched Laslow silently, waiting for him to continue. 

“Um, I’ve told you a bit, that I grew up shy but my mother encouraging me to talk to girls ended up with me being a bit on the flirty side at times.” Laslow paused a bit before continuing. “Yet, whenever I’m around you, whether it’s at dinner, out on the field, in private, wherever really. I get really nervous.” Pausing again, Laslow hesitantly grabbed Xander’s closest hand and put it at his throat. “Do you feel that? My heart is beating crazy fast.” 

Every nerve in Xander’s body was telling him to get out of there, that this was absolutely no good at all. But he couldn’t, he couldn’t make himself do anything but remain still, watch Laslow and feel his heart beat wildly underneath his fingers. He didn’t want to hope for anything, but everything about the situation told Xander that this was it. He had been wrong, his feelings for Laslow weren’t one sided. Although he knew it was bad, he hoped, he hoped so fervently that it would be true.

Laslow drew a deep breath as he let go of Xander’s hand and moved his own to cup Xander’s cheeks gently. 

“Xander, you’re a prince, the eldest prince above all, and I shouldn’t be doing this, feeling this, but I am, and I can’t defy my heart, even if my head is screaming against it.” 

Hesitating only lightly, Laslow leaned up to press a small kiss to Xander’s lips. As he pulled back, the words Xander had hoped for were uttered in a mere whisper. “I’m in love with you.” 

For what seemed like forever, time stood still. Then, with a breathy laugh, Xander put his hands over Laslow’s hands and leaned forward to reciprocate both for the kiss, and the whispered words. “I’m in love with you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> That cliffhanger ahaha, maybe it means a second part? Who knows.


End file.
